The  Cast  Central 
African  Mission 

IN  G  A  Z  A  L  A  N  D 


American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
Congregational  House,  Boston 
1903 


SKETCH 


OF  THE 

East  Central  African  Mission 

GAZALAND 


The  Youngest  of  the  Family 


BETWEEN  UMTALI  AND  SILINDA.  OUTSPANNED  FOR  BREAKFAST 


American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
Congregational  House,  Boston 
1903 


The  following  story  of  the  East  Central  African  Mission  of  the 
American  Board  has  been  prepared  by  a  committee  of  that  mis¬ 
sion,  consisting  of  Mrs.  Laura  H.  Bates  and  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Thomp¬ 
son.  Preceding  the  establishment  of  this  mission  in  Gazaland,  in 
1893,  a  mission  was  begun  at  Inhambane  on  the  coast,  some  550 
miles  north  of  Durban,  but  after  a  few  years  it  was  found  that  the 
location  was  unfavorable.  The  work  in  that  section  was  there¬ 
fore  discontinued,  and  the  story  which  follows  covers  the  period 
from  the  establishment  of  the  mission  in  Gazaland  until  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  year  1903. 


(Htjr  iFurt  IjUl  JJrpsa 

SAMUEL  USHER 

BOSTON,  MASSACHUSETTS,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I.  The  Land  of  its  Birth . 5 

II.  Ante-Natal  Events . 6 

III.  The  Birth  of  the  Mission,  1893 . 9 

IV.  Pioneer  Experiences  on  the  Field . 13 

V.  Hindrances  to  Development  .  16 

VI.  Evidences  of  Growth . 21 

VII.  The  Stations . 22 

VIII.  The  Medical  Department . 22 

IX.  The  Educational  Department . 24 

X.  Industrial  Training . 28 

XI.  The  Evangelistic  Work . 29 

XII.  Conditions  Essential  to  Future  Growth  .  .  .  ,  .31 

XIII.  The  Personal  Element . 33 


SKETCH  MAP  OF  THE  GAZALAND  MISSION 


The  East  Central  African  Mission 


IN  GAZALAND 


I 

THE  LAND  OF  ITS  BIRTH 

Stretching  along  the  east  coast  of  Africa  from  the  Zambezi  River  southward  to 
the  Inhambane  Bay,  and  inland  from  the  Indian  Ocean  to  the  famous  Zimbabwe 
ruins,  lies  a  territory  as  remarkable  for  its  lack  of  authentic  history  as  it  is  rich 


CHARACTERISTIC  GROUP  OF  NATIVES 

in  myth  and  fable.  Reputed  to  have  been  once  a  portion  of  the  storied  Empire 
of  Monomotapa,  a  country  declared  to  be  rich  in  resources,  highly  civilized, 
some  of  whose  inhabitants  were  cannibals,  with  hair  reaching  to  the  ground, 
whose  warriors  tamed  the  lions  and  used  them  in  war, —  and  furthermore  claimed 
by  no  insignificant  authorities  to  be  the  very  land  whence  King  Solomon  secured 


6 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


his  golden  treasure,  —  it  is  still  shrouded  in  a  veil  of  mystery  which  no  subse¬ 
quent  exploration  or  discovery  can  ever  wholly  lift. 

At  the  time  this  story  opens  it  was  certainly  a  land  splendid  in  the  beauty  and 
variety  of  its  scenery,  well  watered  and  of  great  fertility.  With  its  abundance  of 
animal  life,  —  elephant,  buffalo,  giraffe,  hippopotamus,  rhinoceros,  zebra,  gnu, 
eland  and  a  host  of  lesser  quadrupeds,  —  it  was  a  paradise  for  hunters.  As 
regards  its  natural  resources,  whether  its  greater  value  should  prove  to  be  derived 
from  the  glittering  gold  and  other  mineral  products,  whose  magnetic  force  first 
attracted  the  British  energy  and  capital  which  has  opened  this  immense  territory 
to  the  world,  or  to  the  less  fascinating  if  no  less  essential  products  of  agricultural 
industries,  remained  to  be  disclosed. 

Its  inhabitants  were  of  the  Bantu  race.  Their  worship,  which  was  for  the  most 
part  propitiatory,  was  chiefly  a  worship  of  their  ancestral  spirits,  though  there 
were  also  trees  and  groves  specially  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  the  “  unknown 
gods.”  The  people  were  of  fine  physique,  intelligent,  courageous,  but  grossly 
heathen,  and  had  been  reduced  to  still  lower  depths  of  degradation  by  contact 
with  unprincipled  traders  and  adventurers  whose  presence  was,  as  yet,  the  sole 
gift  of  civilization  to  these  children  of  the  wilderness.  While  many  dialects  were 
spoken,  the  Zulu  language  was  so  widely  known  as  easily  to  pass  as  the  Open 
Sesame  to  all  the  people.  Although  bordered  along  the  coast  by  a  dangerous 
malarial  belt,  at  no  great  distance  inland  were  healthful  heights  suitable  for  occu¬ 
pation  by  white  settlers.  In  fact,  in  the  excellence  of  its  available  building  sites, 
in  the  populousness  of  the  region,  in  the  utter  absence  of  uplifting  influences,  and 
consequent  needs,  it  afforded  a  situation  unsurpassed  as  a  field  for  missionary 
effort. 


II 

ANTE-NATAL  EVENTS 

At  the  very  inception  of  its  work  in  southeastern  Africa  the  American  Board, 
realizing  the  desirability  of  undertaking  work  in  the  interior,  directed  one  half 
the  original  force  sent  out  to  inaugurate  a  work  at  some  distance  from  the  coast. 
Acting  thus  under  instructions,  three  families  penetrated  in  1836  as  far  as  the  now 
famous  village  of  Mafeking,  and  some  fifteen  miles  to  the  northeast  they  opened 
a  station.  At  this  point  one  of  the  heroic  six,  Mrs.  Wilson,  yielded  her  life,  and 
it  is  said  that  to  this  day  her  grave  is  cared  for  by  resident  Boers  with  a  rever¬ 
ence  not  unmixed  with  superstition.  Because  of  a  violent  uprising  of  the  natives 
against  their  enemies,  the  Boers,  the  vantage  ground  so  dearly  bought  was  soon 
relinquished,  and  the  missionaries  were  compelled  to  withdraw  to  Natal,  on  the 
coast,  where  they  joined  with  others  in  founding  what  is  now  known  as  the  Zulu 
Mission.  But  from  that  day  the  American  Board  has  continually  cherished  the 
intention  of  pushing  their  original  plan  to  a  successful  issue. 

In  1879  ^e  Board  sent  Dr.  John  O.  Means  to  Europe  to  consult  with  officials 
of  other  missionary  societies  and  with  gentlemen  well  acquainted  with  Africa  as 
to  the  best  openings  in  that  continent  for  new  missions,  and  as  a  result  of  his 
investigations  the  Board  at  its  annual  meeting  in  1879  resolved  to  commence  one 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


7 


mission  on  the  west  side  near  Bihe  and  another  on  the  east  side,  within  the 
kingdom  of  Umzila.  With  a  view  to  gaining  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  facts  concerning  the  latter  region,  Rev.  Myron  W.  Pinkerton,  who  for  nine 
years  had  been  a  member  of  the  Zulu  Mission,  set  out  upon  a  tour  of  inspection 
in  Umzila’s  country.  But  not  fully  realizing,  perhaps,  the  dangers  of  the  mala¬ 
rial  regions,  long  before  he  reached  his  destination  he  fell  a  victim  to  fever 
and  dysentery,  and  his  lonely  grave  is  one  of  the  first  landmarks  in  the  march 
of  Christianity  into  that  vast  stronghold  of  the  Prince  of  Darkness. 

The  following  year,  to  prosecute  the  work  which  Mr.  Pinkerton  had  laid  down, 
Rev.  E.  H.  Richards  made  his  way  to  the  capital  of  the  heathen  ruler,  Umzila, 
by  whom  he  was  cordially  received, 
and  urged  to  summon  his  own  family 
and  other  laborers  to  join  him  and 
take  up  work  among  the  people  of 
that  region.  In  the  report  of  thi<= 
expedition  a  ringing  appeal  was  made 
to  the  Christian  people  of  America  to 
heed  this  new  Macedonian  call  for 
help  in  another  continent,  and  four 
families  were  urged  to  embrace  this 
unparalleled  opportunity  to  plant  the 
standard  of  the  Cross  in  that  remote 
corner  of  the  earth.  But— to  the 
shame  of  Christian  America  be  it  said 
—  four  families  with  means  for  their 
support  could  not  be  found,  and  the 
door  of  opportunity,  never  again  to 
be  so  widely  opened,  was  indefinitely 
closed. 

Disheartened,  but  not  despairing, 
the  American  Board,  in  1888,  au¬ 
thorized  still  another  expedition,  and 
Messrs.  Wilder  and  Bates  visited  the 
heathen  ruler  Gungunyana,  son  and  successor  of  Umzila.  But  now  new  influ¬ 
ences  were  found  to  have  crept  in.  The  gold  prospector  was  abroad  in  the  land, 
and  already  Gungunyana  and  his  people  had  scented  danger  in  the  air.  The 
Portuguese,  too,  awaking  from  the  lethargy  of  centuries,  hastened  to  make  friends 
with  the  heathen  king,  and  to  warn  him  against  all  intruders.  At  this  time  all 
white  men  were  forbidden  to  enter  the  country  without  the  special  permission  of 
Gungunyana.  The  exploring  party,  therefore,  remained  at  the  coast  until  messen¬ 
gers  were  sent  to  secure  the  desired  permission.  At  length,  with  guides  and  car¬ 
riers  furnished  by  his  heathen  majesty,  the  journey  toward  the  royal  kraal  began. 
But  even  after  they  arrived,  the  travelers  were  forced  to  wait  for  weeks  before 
they  gained  the  ear  of  the  king.  Meantime  they  were  under  the  closest  surveil¬ 
lance.  Spies  were  continually  at  hand,  one  of  whom  proved  to  be  familiar  with 
the  English  language,  to  discover,  if  possible,  the  real  object  of  their  journey 


8 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


thither.  At  last  the  weary  waiting  came  to  a  close,  and  the  sable  monarch, 
clothed  chiefly  in  his  royal  dignity,  and  surrounded  by  his  dusky  councilors,  gra¬ 
ciously  gave  the  visitors  audience.  From  the  first,  the  travelers  had  noted  with 
misgivings  the  powerful  influence  of  the  Portuguese,  one  of  whom  —  a  military 
officer  —  posed  as  a  missionary  to  the  royal  family,  but  in  reality  remained 
there  to  keep  the  Portuguese  flag  floating  over  the  royal  kraal.  Yet  with  an  ear¬ 
nestness  born  of  intense  desire,  they  laid  before  the  king  the  object  of  their 
visit,  reminding  him  of  the  promise  of  his  father  to  receive  the  American  mis¬ 
sionaries.  After  listening  courteously  to  their  message  and  deliberating  thereon, 
the  king  replied  in  these  memorable  words  :  “  Your  feet  have  been  too  slow  in 
coming ;  we  have  other  missionaries  now,  we  cannot  take  you  also.”  With 


A  CHIEF'S  HOUSE 


hearts  burning  with  shame  at  this  merited  rebuke  to  the  Christians  of  America 
from  a  heathen  king,  the  travelers  retraced  their  steps  and  sent  the  bitter  mes¬ 
sage  home,  “Too  late ;  ye  cannot  enter  now.” 

Years  of  waiting  followed,  and  meantime  the  inestimable  advantages  of  enter¬ 
ing  in  the  van  of  civilization  steadily  receded  and  finally  vanished. 

In  order  that  the  American  Board  might  be  kept  thoroughly  informed  as  to 
the  course  of  events,  after  the  British  South  Africa  Company  had  assumed  con¬ 
trol  of  the  territory  granted  under  the  charter,  Messrs.  Wilcox  and  Thompson 
made  a  brief  expedition  in  1891  into  the  same  region.  During  their  travels  they 
had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  the  Hon.  Cecil  J.  Rhodes,  who  rendered  them  very 
material  assistance  in  providing  rifles,  etc.,  for  their  use. 

On  being  informed  of  the  project  of  the  American  missionaries  to  enter  the 
country,  Mr.  Rhodes  expressed  his  cordial  approval  of  the  scheme,  and  taking  a 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


9 


map,  marked  upon  it  what  he  considered  a  favorable  location  for  the  mission, 
which  is,  as  nearly  as  can  be  judged,  the  very  site  of  the  Silinda  station. 

In  1892  still  another  expedition,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Thompson,  Wilder  and 
Bunker,  was  sent  to  explore  with  a  view  to  permanent  settlement.  After  taking 
a  careful  survey  of  the  situation,  and  selecting  a  site  for  the  first  station,  they 
sent  home  a  favorable  report  of  existing  conditions,  and  returned  to  Natal  to 
await  instructions. 

The  recommendations  formulated  by  the  volunteers,  —  Messrs.  G.  A.  Wilder, 
W.  F.  Bates,  W.  L.  Thompson  and  F.  R.  Bunker,  —  and  afterward  ratified  by 
the  Zulu  Mission,  embodied  the  following  points  :  — 

“  (1)  That  this  mission  be  started  with  the  definite  policy  of  employing  native 
evangelists  and  of  supporting  the  same,  so  far  as  is  necessary,  from  the  funds  of 
the  Board. 

“  (2)  That  inasmuch  as  we  consider  the  carrying  on  of  industrial  work  to  be 
essential  to  the  success  of  the  mission,  that  the  mission  be  started  with  the  definite 
policy  of  employing  industrial  agencies  to  such  an  extent  as  shall  seem  to  the 
mission  necessary  for  the  most  successful  prosecution  of  the  work,  the  support 
for  the  same  to  come,  so  far  as  is  necessary,  from  the  funds  of  the  Board. 

“  (3)  That  the  volunteer  party,  together  with  six  Zulu  helpers  from  Natal, 
should  proceed  the  next  season,  via  the  Buzi  River,  to  Silinda,  there  to  form  a 
central  station,  from  which,  under  the  supervision  of  the  missionaries,  systematic 
work  shall  be  carried  on  by  the  native  helpers. 

“  (4)  That  a  station  be  opened  at  the  head  of  navigation,  and  that,  as  soon  as 
advisable,  two  stations,  one  on  the  lower  Buzi,  and  one  on  the  lower  Sabi,  be 
opened,  to  be  occupied  during  the  winter  months  at  least.” 

The  Prudential  Committee  indicated  their  approval  of  the  proposed  plan  by  a 
cable  message,  and  the  mission  only  awaited  their  full  letter  of  instructions 
before  setting  out  on  their  eventful  journey  to  the  “  Regions  Beyond.” 


Ill 

THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  MISSION,  1893 

The  unswerving  determination  of  the  Prudential  Committee  to  establish  a 
successful  work  in  the  interior  of  eastern  Africa  now,  after  nearly  sixty  years  of 
waiting,  had  its  fruition,  and  the  mission  in  Gazaland  was  fully  organized.  There 
were  appointed  to  this  mission  Mr.  and  Mrs.  G.  A.  Wilder,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  W. 
Bates  and  Mrs.  W.  L.  Thompson,  of  the  Zulu  Mission,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  F. 
Ousley,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  R.  Bunker,  Dr.  W.  L.  Thompson  and  Miss  N.  Jones,  of 
the  Inhambane  Mission.  Owing  to  the  impaired  health  of  Mr.  Ousley,  he  was 
unable  to  accompany  the  party,  but  returned  with  Mrs.  Ousley  to  America,  and 
thus  two  valuable  workers  were  lost  to  the  infant  mission. 

The  pioneer  party  sailed  from  Durban  June  21,  1893,  reaching  Beira,  the  port 
of  entry,  on  June  25.  On  the  29th  they  set  forth  in  two  sailboats  for 
Jobo’s  kraal, — twenty  miles  from  Beira,  —  which  point  is  the  head  of  naviga- 


I  o 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


tion  for  larger  craft  on  the  Lower  Buzi.  Jobo  is  one  of  the  most  influential 
chiefs.  He  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  have  the  missionaries  remain  with  his 
people  to  teach  them,  —  a  request  it  was  hard  to  refuse,  —  but  the  expectation 
was  that  before  long  this  wish  might  be  met.  From  Jobo’s  the  party  pursued 
their  journey  for  eighty  miles  in  a  corrugated  iron  boat  propelled  by  oars,  or 
where  the  river  is  too  swift  and  shallow,  by  poles,  skillfully  manipulated  by  the 
boatmen.  The  goods  belonging  to  the  party  were  transported  in  native  canoes, 
twenty-two  in  number.  (These  canoes  are  simply  the  trunks  of  trees  hollowed 
out.  The  opening  is  a  mere  slot  scarcely  more  than  a  foot  in  width,  which  ren¬ 
ders  the  loading  a  difficult  matter.)  All  large  boxes  were  of  necessity  unpacked 
and  the  cases  themselves  discarded.  This  was  a  matter  of  serious  disadvantage 
as,  owing  to  the  very  limited  amount  of  furniture  it  was  possible  to  carry  to  the 
highlands,  the  ladies  had  hoped  to  make  the  packing  cases,  with  pretty  draperies, 
of  great  service  in  the  furnishing  of  their  homes  in  the  wilderness. 


TEMPORARY  RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  AND  MRS.  BATES,  MT.  SILINDA 

The  progress  of  the  party  was  slow  and  tedious.  At  Nyambita’s,  another  chief 
of  note,  the  party  were  assured  of  a  cordial  welcome  if  they  would  consent  to  re¬ 
main  and  teach  his  people.  The  travelers  spent  their  nights  ashore,  and  from 
time  to  time,  a  day  or  two  also,  in  order  to  attend  to  necessary  matters,  such 
as  laundry  work, and  hunting  to  provide  the  boatmen  with  food. 

July  14  found  the  party  one  hundred  miles  up  the  Buzi,  at  Manyayi’s  kraal, 
from  which  point  the  boatmen  with  their  canoes  left  them  and  returned  to  their 
homes  down  the  river.  Here  preparations  were  made  for  the  third  mode  of 
travel  —  a  foot  journey  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  In  case  of  necessity  a 
“mashila”  was  improvised  for  the  ladies  and  children  by  swinging  the  camp 
beds  on  a  pole  to  be  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  natives.  But  untrained  carriers 
proved  painfully  awkward.  They  bumped  the  helpless  passengers  against  stumps 
and  stones,  the  tall  grass  brushed  their  faces,  the  motion  was  disagreeable,  so 
that  this  mode  of  travel  was  distinctly  unpopular  and  rarely  resorted  to  save  in 
cases  of  sickness.  A  serious  barrier  to  progress  during  this  foot  journey  was  the 
insuperable  difficulty  of  securing  sufficient  carriers.  This  necessitated  the  sepa- 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


1 1 

rating  of  the  party,  —  none  too  large  at  best,  —  into  small  divisions,  one  of  which 
went  forward  as  a  few  carriers  could  be  gathered  together,  while  the  rest  awaited 
the  return  of  the  carriers  to  proceed  on  their  journey.  On  being  removed  from 
the  canoes,  the  goods  had  to  be  repacked  and,  so  far  as  possible,  made  into  con¬ 
venient-sized  loads  of  fifty  or  sixty  pounds’  weight,  to  be  carried  on  the  heads  of 
men.  This  readjustment  compelled  the  abandonment  of  still  other  packing 
cases,  and  the  prospect  of  a  comfortably  furnished  abode  in  the  future  dwindled 
in  proportion.  All  the  party  had  by  this  time  received  many  lessons  in  “  re¬ 
ceiving  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their  goods.”  There  were  mildewed  books  and 


A  KOPJE  BETWEEN  SILINDA  AND  UMTALI 

dry  goods,  broken  dishes,  and  vacancies  in  cases  never  opened  since  leaving  the 
customs  house.  Among  the  medical  stores  all  bottles  of  spirits  and  strong 
ammonia  were  empty ;  the  castor  oil  had  been  sampled,  but  evidently  a  little 
was  sufficient.  Most  disheartening  of  all,  it  was  evident  that  for  lack  of  trans¬ 
port,  all  but  the  most  absolute  essentials  must  be  left  behind,  to  be  carried  up  at 
a  more  convenient  season.  Each  family,  therefore,  summed  up  their  belongings 
under  three  general  heads,  “  Must  have,”  “  Would  like,”  “  Can ’t  take.”  A  glance 
into  the  domestic  arrangements  of  the  camp  would  indicate  that  even  at  this 
time  some  of  the  articles  usually  regarded  as  necessities  were  lacking.  “Would 
you  like  a  glimpse  into  our  camp?”  wrote  one.  “We  have  a  tent  for  each 
family,  and  a  large  one  for  a  dining  room  and  general  depository.  Several  small 


12 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


sewing  tables  set  side  by  side  serve  as  a  dining  table,  while  our  work  table,  legs, 
sides,  top  and  all,  is  made  of  sticks  fastened  together  with  bark  fiber.  Our  cook¬ 
ing  is  done  over  an  open  fire  on  the  ground,  the  pots  and  kettles  resting  on  stones 
or  hard  pieces  of  ant  heap  of  fairly  uniform  size.  It  requires  no  little  skill  to 
keep  everything  sputtering  merrily,  to  say  nothing  of  keeping  the  dust  out  when 
a  high  wind  is  blowing.  A  false  move  is  sure  to  send  the  stew  pot  flying,  and 
wreck  our  hopes  of  a  good  dinner.  We  bake  our  bread  in  a  biscuit  tin  or  some 
such  thing,  set  in  a  native  pot  and  covered  with  a  frying  pan,  with  coals  surround¬ 
ing  all.” 


Though  wearisome,  the  time  spent  in  waiting  for  carriers  was  by  no  means 
wasted.  Now  a  surgical  operation  would  be  performed  in  the  open,  with  a  large 
audience  in  attendance.  Such  confidence  would  be  gained  by  a  successful  out¬ 
come  that  the  natives  expected  that  all  their  sick,  chronic  cases,  incurables  and 
even  madmen  would  be  as  easily  and  as  quickly  cured. 

The  weeks  of  waiting,  too,  afforded  a  good  opportunity  to  study  at  close  quarters 
the  characteristics  and  needs  of  the  people.  While  the  Zulu  language  was  found 
to  be  generally  understood,  the  people  are  more  familiar  with  the  Chindao,  an 
allied  dialect,  which,  in  order  to  insure  the  most  effective  work  among  these 
people,  should  be  mastered.  The  natives  rise  at  dawn  to  begin  the  work  of  the 
day,  digging,  grinding,  cooking,  hunting,  etc.,  each  accompanied  by  its  own 
peculiar  song,  which  is  usually  some  minor  melody  not  unpleasant  to  the  ear. 
Haste  is  not  in  the  makeup  of  these  people.  It  has  well  been  said  that  unless  a 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


13 


native  is  in  pursuit  of  game,  or  is  fleeing  from  his  enemies  or  his  just  obligations, 
he  cannot  understand  why  any  one  should  be  in  haste. 

The  letters  and  journals  of  the  party  during  their  journey  are  of  exceeding 
interest,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  on  account  of  the  necessity  for  brevity  any 
lengthy  quotations  from  these  may  not  be  made.  Brief  excerpts  may,  however, 
throw  some  side  light  upon  the  trials  and  pleasures  of  the  way. 

“August  9.  Here  our  bag  of  bedding  came  up  missing.  Others  shared  with  us 
such  articles  of  toilet,  etc.,  as  could  be  spared  until  the  bag  came  several  days 
later,  having  been  soaked  in  the  river.” 

“August  31.  Our  table  is  bountifully  supplied  with  venison,  birds  and  fish. 
The  barking  of  the  antelope,  the  grunting  of  the  hippo,  the  screech  of  the  hyena, 
the  cry  of  the  baboon  and  leopard,  the  chatter  of  guinea  fowl  and  other  wild 
birds  are  familiar  sounds.  Lions  abound  here.  Once  we  heard  one  very  near 
—  the  grandest  roar  I  ever  heard  !  ” 

“  To-day  we  arrived  at  Chibababa’s.  Our  journey  has  been  through  wild,  fine 
scenery  with  frequent  views  of  the  Buzi  River.  At  times  our  path  was  but  a 
narrow  opening  through  dense  foliage,  sometimes  into  deep  ravines,  where  we 
slid  down,  clinging  to  “  monkey  rope  ”  or  reeds,  and  pulled  ourselves  up  the  other 
side  by  similar  support.” 

But  the  weary  journey  came  to  an  end  at  last.  On  October  19  the  entire 
party,  in  spite  of  many  dangers,  privations  and  illnesses,  was  reunited  at  Mt. 
Silinda,  and  Gazaland  was  taken  possession  of  in  the  name  of  Christ  the  King  ! 


IV 

PIONEER  EXPERIENCES  ON  THE  FIELD 

History  was  making  rapidly  in  those  early  days.  When  the  exploring  party  of 
1892  entered  the  country,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  men  at  the 
Portuguese  Government  Establishment  at  Mossurize  there  were  no  white 
settlers  within  one  hundred  miles  of  Mt.  Silinda.  Before  the  mission  party  had 
reached  their  destination,  in  1893,  a  company  of  English  and  Dutch  farmers 
had  entered  overland  from  the  south  and  formed  a  temporary  settlement  some 
thirty  miles  north  of  Silinda.  A  pedestrian  party,  also,  had  been  for  more  than 
six  months  traveling  inland  along  the  Sabi  River,  a  portion  of  whom  made  their 
way  to  Mt.  Silinda,  where  they  remained  for  a  time.  Here  one  of  the  party, 
having  contracted  malaria  in  the  lowlands,  died  on  December  20,  1893.  Here 
also  to  the  wife  of  the  leader  of  this  party  was  born  a  son  —  the  first  white  child 
born  in  Gazaland.  Complications  regarding  the  claim  to  the  mission  farm 
necessitated  a  visit  to  the  seat  of  government  at  Salisbury,  three  hundred  miles 
away.  This  journey  was  accomplished  on  horseback  and  occupied  a  month’s 
time. 

Meantime  the  approaching  rainy  season  had  spurred  on  the  missionaries  to 
provide  themselves  with  such  temporary  shelter  as  would  in  some  measure  avert 
danger  to  life  and  health.  The  building  operations,  with  green  sticks  from  the 


H 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


forest  for  lumber,  wooden  pegs  for  nails,  and  grass  for  roofing,  were  necessarily 
laborious.  For  the  most  part  the  missionaries  built  according  to  the  native  style 
of  architecture  —  round  huts  with  mud  floors,  mud-plastered  walls,  thatched 
roofs,  etc.,  the  greatest  improvement  being  that  the  doors  were  made  sufficiently 
high  to  allow  one  to  walk  in  instead  of  crawling  in  on  his  hands  and  knees,  and 
that  there  were  windows,  — often  of  cloth  in  lieu  of  glass,  —  which  in  the  native 
huts  are  absent.  How  to  provide  fireplaces  —  a  necessity  both  on  account  of 
dampness  and  cold — was  a  burning  question,  and  various  expedients  were 
tried.  One  built  a  sod  chimney,  but  it  proved  unsatisfactory  and  was  replaced 
by  one  of  “  wattle  and  daub,”  that  is,  a  framework  of  wood  plastered  with  mud. 
This,  except  for  its  tendency  to  catch  fire  and  endanger  the  whole  building,  was 
an  entire  success.  One  built  a  stone  chimney,  but  with  mud  in  place  of  mortar 
it  collapsed  with  the  first  rain,  and  a  different  plan  was  adopted. 

The  question  of  transport,  too,  was  a  perplexing  one.  From  a  party  of 

travelers  who 
were  leaving  the 
country  a  wagon 
and  oxen  were 
purchased  for 
this  purpose. 
This  necessita¬ 
ted  the  building 
of  an  enclosure 
to  protect  them 
from  the  wild 
beasts,  for  lions 
and  leopards  and 
other  animals 
were  frequent 
visitors,  whose 
depredations 
among  the  do¬ 
mestic  animals  caused  much  loss  throughout  the  district.  Spring  had  come,  and 
the  planting  of  gardens  was  one  of  the  pressing  duties  of  the  hour.  “  We  suc¬ 
ceeded,”  writes  one,  “  in  buying  a  plow  of  one  of  our  neighbors,  which,  with  our 
oxen,  we  hoped  would  be  a  great  help  in  preparing  soil  for  our  gardens,  but  we 
had  just  begun  to  plow  when  it  struck  a  root  and  went  to  pieces.  There  being 
no  shop  at  which  to  get  it  mended,  we  set  to  work  ourselves  to  repair  it  as  best 
we  could,  but  amateur  blacksmithing  without  a  forge  did  not  stand  the  test,  and 
again  it  went  to  pieces.  Later  we  succeeded  in  securing  other  plows,  but  mean¬ 
time  most  of  our  oxen  sickened  and  died,  and  again  we  were  disappointed.” 

While  under  favorable  circumstances  it  was  possible  to  raise  nearly  every  kind 
of  vegetable  besides  the  maize,  poko  —  resembling  millet  —  and  kaffir  corn, 
which  are  the  staple  crops  of  the  natives,  under  existing  conditions  the  garden 
produce  in  the  early  days  was  very  meager,  and  the  missionaries  were  compelled 
to  depend  largely  upon  the  natives  for  food.  No  small  amount  of  time  was  spent 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


15 


in  haggling  with  unreasonable  natives  for  food  upon  which  subsistence  depended. 
They  were  paid  in  the  current  coin  of  the  land  —  “a  stretch  of  cloth  ”  ;  “to  the- 
first  shoulder,”  “  to  the  second  shoulder,”  being  the  various  denominations. 
This  daily  contact  with  the  natives  may  seem  to  have  furnished  a  rare  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  scattering  seeds  of  truth.  This  was  indeed  done,  but  the  effect,  both 
on  the  buyer  and  seller,  of  an  hour  or  two’s  bartering  over  a  small  basket  of  meal 
or  a  dozen  eggs  was  not  most  favorable  to  the  imparting  or  receiving  of  Christian 
instruction. 

The  problems  of  domestic  economy  were  not  such  as  are  discussed  in  any 
housekeeper’s  manual  in  the  hands  of  the  mission  ladies.  The  long  delay  in 


OX  RIDINO  ILLUSTRATED 


the  lowlands  had  sadly  depleted  the  groceries  and  other  supplies,  and  swollen 
rivers  and  the  lack  of  transport  had  precluded  the  possibility  of  renewing  the 
supply.  What  remained  at  the  end  of  the  journey  had  been  apportioned  among 
the  families,  but  of  flour,  sugar,  baking  powder,  soda,  etc.,  there  was  only  enough 
to  use  on  rare  occasions.  Native  meal  took  the  place  of  flour;  honey,  of  sugar; 
unknown  vegetables,  of  familiar  ones  ;  and  it  was  necessary  first  to  learn  to  pre¬ 
pare  food  with  these  substitutes  and  then  to  learn  to  eat  it. 

But  the  conditions  were  gradually  changing.  As  the  natives  came  to  know 
the  missionaries  better,  they  felt  that  they  could  trust  them,  and  it  became  less 
difficult  to  engage  them  as  carriers.  A  railway,  too,  was  constructed,  which  ma¬ 
terially  assisted  in  the  problem  of  transporting  goods.  When  Mrs.  Bates  and  Miss 
Gilson  entered  the  country,  in  1896,  they  traveled  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  by  rail,  seventy-five  miles  on  foot,  and  sixty-five  by  ox  wagon,  and 


i6 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


reached  Silinda  in  one  fourth  the  time  that  the  pioneer  party  had  occupied  in 
their  journey  in  1893.  In  1900  Mrs.  Lawrence  came  two  hundred  and  ten  miles 
by  rail  to  Umtali,  the  nearest  railway  station  to  Silinda,  thence  by  wagon  to  Mel- 
setter,  and  from  that  point  on  horseback  to  Silinda. 

These  pioneer  experiences  within  the  tropics  have  been  somewhat  wearing  to 
the  members  of  the  mission,  but  it  has  been  possible  for  the  ladies,  on  rare  occa¬ 
sions,  to  break  away  from  the  “Daily  round  and  common  task  ’’for  a  much 
needed  holiday,  each  in  a  fashion  of  her  own.  One  mounts  a  donkey  or  even  an 
ox,  and  sallies  forth  in  search  of  renewed  vigor.  One  clambers  into  a  springless 
two-wheeled  ox  cart,  and  goes  with  a  thump  and  a  bump  over  the  fearful  roads 
seeking  rest.  One  leads  out  her  wheel,  and  in  spots  where  the  grade  permits, 
exults  in  the  strength  derived  from  a  lively  spin.  One  preferring  to  walk,  as  the 
safer  and  surer  mode  of  travel,  tramps  her  twenty  miles  a  day,  buoyed  up  by  the 
consciousness  that  change  is  rest !  And  still  the  times  are  changing  ! 


V 

HINDRANCES  TO  DEVELOPMENT 

From  the  time  of  its  organization,  the  infant  mission  has  found  itself  beset 
with  difficulties  compared  to  which  the  trifling  personal  discomforts  and  tem¬ 
porary  deprivations  were  as  nothing.  These  difficulties  may  be  classified  in 
general  as  arising  ;  (1)  from  the  early  unfriendliness  of  officials  and  colonists  ;  (2) 
from  the  attitude  and  character  of  the  natives  ;  and  (3)  from  an  inadequate  sup¬ 
port,  due  to  the  straitened  financial  condition  of  the  Board. 

Unfortunately  the  site  selected  as  the  most  desirable  in  all  the  region  for  a 
mission  station  proved  to  be  in  disputed  territory.  While  apparently  lying  well 
within  the  borders  of  Rhodesia,  it  was,  nevertheless,  claimed  as  well  by  the 
Portuguese.  For  this  reason,  the  mission  was  forced  for  several  years  to  pay  full 
Portuguese  duties,  amounting  to  about  thirty  per  cent  ad  valorem,  instead  of 
the  three  per  cent  transit  duties  into  British  territory,  which  should  have  sufficed. 
This  was  always  done  with  a  vigorous  protest  on  the  part  of  the  mission,  which, 
however,  availed  nothing  at  the  time,  save  the  securing  from  the  Portuguese 
of  a  written  promise  that,  in  case  the  mission  site  proved  to  be  within  British 
territory,  the  excess  of  duties  would  be  refunded. 

A  spurious  claim  to  prior  occupation  of  the  mission  site,  recognized,  however, 
by  the  British  South  Africa  Company’s  representative,  caused  the  mission  untold 
annoyance,  and  involved  the  outlay  of  a  large  amount  of  money,  which,  with  its 
slender  resources,  would  have  been  most  serious  had  not  the  churches  of  the 
Rockford  Association,  in  Illinois,  nobly  come  to  the  rescue  and  provided  the 
necessary  funds. 

The  majority  of  the  colonists,  possessing  an  inherent  aversion  to  any  efforts 
looking  toward  the  betterment  of  the  natives,  cast  upon  the  mission  an  un¬ 
friendly  eye,  and  at  times  their  cold  disfavor  exhibited  itself  in  hostile  action. 

It  is  perhaps  little  wonder  that  the  natives  listened  to  the  declaration  of  the 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


17 


mission  as  to  the  object  of  their  coming  with  mingled  feelings  of  astonishment 
and  distrust  —  of  astonishment,  that  if  the  Glad  Tidings  were  surely  for  all  the 
people,  they  had  not  heard  it  long  ago ;  of  distrust,  that  white  men,  whom  expe¬ 
rience  had  led  them  to  regard  as  of  all  men  most  evil,  could  be  actuated  by  any 
other  motive  than  a  selfish  one. 

Among  the  native  characteristics  which  have  most  seriously  interfered  with  the 
results  aimed  at  by  the  mission  workers  are  the  love  of  drink  and  the  desire  to 
enter  into  polygamy.  The  native  beer,  containing  all  the  substance  of  the 
grain  from  which  it  is  made,  is,  as  is  constantly  claimed  by  natives  defending 
its  use,  both  food  and  drink.  Yet  knowing  the  loathsome  train  of  evils  which 
follow  its  habitual  use, —  the  bestial  physical  condition,  the  besotted  intellect, 
the  quarrelsomeness  resulting  in  fights  and  often  bloodshed,  —  the  missionaries 
look  upon  a  year  of  plenty,  when  the  grain  from  which  beer  is  made  is  abun¬ 
dant,  as  sure  to 
be  one  of  exces¬ 
sive  debauchery 
and  crime.  To 
combat  these 
evils  the  mission¬ 
aries  of  necessity 
become  the  most 
ardent  of  tem¬ 
perance  reform¬ 
ers. 

Inasmuch  as  a 
man’s  social 
standing  here  in¬ 
creases  in  direct 

,  MR.  WILDER’S  HOUSE  AT  MT.  SILINDA 

ratio  to  the  num¬ 
ber  of  his  wives,  it  is  not  surprising  that  polygamy  constitutes  one  of  the  crying 
evils  to  be  corrected  in  the  struggle  for  the  uplifting  of  the  nation.  Closely 
correlated  with  this  is  the  practice  of  “  lobola  ”  or  the  buying  of  wives,  the  most 
odious  feature  of  the  system  as  practiced  in  this  region  being  that  the  payment 
made  for  the  bride  by  the  husband  to  her  owners  is  usually  a  female  relative, 
it  may  be  a  mere  child,  or  even  a  mortgage  upon  an  unborn  babe.  Not  infre¬ 
quently  the  payment  of  fines  and  debts  is  made  in  a  similar  manner. 

A  further  indication  of  the  depths  from  which  the  natives  must  be  lifted  is  the 
customary  practice  of  conducting  trials  by  ordeal.  In  petty  cases,  such  as  theft 
or  injury  to  property,  the  usual  mode  of  trial  is  that  of  administering  poison  to 
both  parties  in  the  case,  the  one  most  seriously  affected  being  declared  guilty. 
The  plaintiff  and  defendant  appear  before  the  “inyanga”  or  “doctor,”  accom¬ 
panied  by  their  supporters,  each  with  his  gifts,  which  are  set  forth  for  inspection. 
A  careful  survey  of  the  latter  indicates  to  the  “  doctor  ”  which  of  the  two  it  is 
expedient  to  convict,  the  party  bringing  the  less  valuable  gifts  being,  in  fact,  pre¬ 
judged.  The  skill  of  the  “  doctor  ”  lies  in  the  deftness  with  which  he  manipu¬ 
lates  his  medicines.  First  a  draught  is  administered  to  each ;  next  two  powders,. 


IS  THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 

supposedly  of  the  same  kind,  are  mixed  in  water  and  swallowed,  but  the  “  doc¬ 
tor  ”  knows  full  well  the  potency  of  the  one,  the  harmlessness  of  the  other  and 
the  result  which  will  necessarily  follow. 

In  conducting  trials  for  witchcraft  different  methods  prevail,  and  since  all 
events,  such  as  failure  of  crops,  sickness  and  death,  are  supposed  never  to  come 
by  natural  causes,  but  are  the  result  of  the  witchcraft  of  an  enemy,  such  cases 
are  of  great  frequency.  Among  the  means  resorted  to  to  discover  the  guilty 
party  is  one  which  may  be  called  the  “  licking  of  the  heated  hoe.”  The 
accused  and  accuser  appear  before  the  “  doctor  ”  with  their  gifts.  The  “  doc¬ 
tor,”  wishing  to  clear  the  one,  heats  his  hoe  in  the  fire,  and  withdrawing  it  gives 
a  harangue  of  sufficient  length  to  allow  the  hoe  time  to  cool,  then  pouring  on  fat 
he  presents  it  to  be  licked.  Since  the  mere  act  of  licking  warm  fat  from  a 
cooled  surface  leaves  no  dire  effects,  the  innocence  of  the  party  is  triumphantly 
proved.  To  insure  the  conviction  of  the  other,  the  “  doctor,”  on  removing  the 
hoe  from  the  fire,  speaks  but  a  few  words,  applies  the  fat,  which  at  once  bursts 
into  flame,  and  the  hapless  victim  with  frightful  burns  and  scarified  tongue  bears 
on  his  person  the  terrible  proof  of  his  guilt.  The  extraordinary  confidence  of  the 
people  in  the  power  of  witchcraft,  as  exhibited,  for  example,  in  their  willingness 
to  pay  the  rain  doctors  the  enormous  fees  demanded  by  them  for  their  services  in 
bringing  rain,  —  curiously  modified  by  superstitions  of  a  nature  tending  toward 
incredulity  in  the  same,  —  suggests  that  only  time  will  work  the  complete  change 
which  must  come  before  the  best  result  of  missionary  efforts  can  be  attained. 
Several  boys,  for  instance,  in  a  time  of  severe  drought  traveled  many  miles  from 
home  and  worked  a  month  to  obtain  a  certain  kind  of  cloth  acceptable  to  the 
great  rain  doctor.  Having  secured  the  cloth,  they  set  out  to  beseech  him  to 
send  them  rain.  They  had  been  gone  but  a  short  time  when  they  returned  to 
the  one  from  whom  they  had  obtained  the  cloth.  “Why  did  you  turn  back?  ” 
they  were  asked.  “  We  met  some  baboons  beyond  the  forest,”  they  replied. 
“They  laughed  at  us,  we  are  afraid  to  go  on,  so  we  are  going  back  to  our 
homes.”  A  man  came  to  ask  permission  to  build  on  the  mission  farm.  He 
began  to  make  his  preparations,  but  a  wasp  stung  him  and  immediately  he 
changed  his  plan.  Another  proposed  to  move  his  kraal  from  one  part  of  the 
farm  to  another ;  in  cutting  sticks  for  his  new  hut  he  accidentally  cut  his  leg, 
and  his  intention  was  abandoned.  Any  such  accidents  happening  at  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  an  undertaking  are  a  certain  evidence  that  the  spirits  are  not  propitious. 
The  practice  of  destroying  twins  to  avert  disaster  from  the  parents,  or  a  child 
who  cuts  its  upper  teeth  first ;  the  habit  of  banishing  the  sick  from  the  home, 
perhaps  to  suffer  and  to  die  uncared  for  and  alone ;  the  unmentionable  social 
customs  (see  Rom.  i),  — all  these  and  many  others  explain  in  part  the  absence 
of  striking  results  in  the  earlier  stages  of  missionary  work. 

Last  but  not  least  among  the  hindrances  to  the  best  development  of  the  work 
has  been  the  apparent  impossibility,  either  by  pen  pictures  aided  by  photo¬ 
graphic  illustration,  or  by  the  personal  narrative  of  missionaries  returning  on 
furlough  to  America,  to  convey  to  those  who  should  be  most  interested  any 
adequate  conception  of  the  conditions  existing  on  the  field.  The  situation  in 
brief  was  this  :  — 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


IQ 


Only  yesterday  had  the  great  splendid  territory  of  Rhodesia  been  carved  out 
of  this  hitherto  undeveloped  portion  of  the  continent.  Only  two  avenues  of 
entrance  were  available — one  overland  from  the  Transvaal  northward  through 
trackless  wastes  alive  with  the  terrors  of  the  unknown  ;  the  other  through  the 
port  of  Beira,  then  little  else  than  a  forwarding  station  for  the  steady  stream  of 
traffic  already  setting  in  toward  the  newly  opened  colony,  and  thence  inland 
through  low-lying  malarial  regions  to  the  healthier  heights  beyond.  The  nearest 
base  of  supplies  was  Beira,  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  site  of  the  mis¬ 
sion.  Owing  to  the  swelling  of  rivers  caused  by  the  violent  storms  of  the  rainy 
season,  for  several  months  in  the  year  all  traffic  with  the  coast  was  suspended. 


PLOWING  ON  THE  FARM  AT  MT.  SILINDA 

Transport  rates,  whether  by  canoe,  by  native  carrier  or  ox  wagon,  were  enor¬ 
mous  ;  and  this,  together  with  the  loss  of  goods  in  transit,  by  inclement 
weather,  by  the  ravages  of  white  ants,  and  later  by  pilfering  and  robbery,  com¬ 
pelled  the  curtailment  of  imported  supplies  below  the  point  consistent  with  good 
health  and  efficiency.  By  a  strange  perversion  of  the  law  of  supply  and  demand, 
a  fictitious  value  was  placed  upon  articles  by  the  few  who  had  them  to  sell, 
which  was  so  high  as  to  be  prohibitive.  Rather  than  sell  butter  at  a  reasonable 
price,  they  would  convert  it  into  soap  or  use  it  to  polish  their  earthen  floors ; 
rather  than  sell  potatoes,  cabbages  and  other  vegetables  at  any  less  than  their 
own  exorbitant  figure,  they  allowed  them  to  rot  in  the  garden  or  to  be  destroyed 
by  rats.  Of  skilled  labor  there  was  practically  none,  and  the  merest  tyro  at  a 
trade,  having  the  right  of  way,  set  the  pace  by  demanding  wages  higher  than, 


20 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


under  normal  conditions,  are  commanded  by  the  best.  The  pit  sawyer,  cutting 
from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  of  twelve-inch  timber  in  a  day,  demanded  for 
this  service  from  $2.50  to  $5.00  and  his  board.  The  mason  to  whom  the  laying 
of  a  few  hundred  bricks  was  a  full  day’s  work,  received  $4.75  besides  his  food. 
The  teamster,  after  the  ravages  had  destroyed  nearly  all  the  cattle  in  the  coun¬ 
try,  charged  about  $7.00  for  what  he  felt  inclined  to  do  in  the  course  of  a  day. 
Native  labor,  quite  erroneously  supposed  to  be  cheap  labor,  was  uncertain  and 
unsatisfactory,  the  labor  value  of  an  average  farm  hand  in  America  being  at 
least  ten  times  more  valuable. 

Under  such  conditions  the  inevitable  struggle  merely  for  existence  was  suffi¬ 
cient  to  absorb  attention,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  interests.  To  secure  for 
himself  the  garden  produce  so  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  health,  the  mis¬ 
sionary  had  first  to  clear  and  cultivate  the  virgin  soil,  and  then,  at  great  expense, 
to  ward  off  the  devastating  swarms  of  locusts  and  other  pests  that  threatened  to 
utterly  devour  the  fruit  of  his  labor.  To  provide  dwellings  such  as  would  ade¬ 
quately  protect  the  occupants  from  the  dangers  of  the  tropical  climate,  he  must, 
with  native  help,  unearth  the  stones  imbedded  in  the  mountain  side,  seek  out 
the  hidden  clay  beds  along  the  water  ways  from  which  to  prepare  the  bricks  and 
tiles,  fell  the  giant  trees  in  the  forest  primeval,  and  —  oh,  giant  task  !  —  by  the 
slow  process  of  pit  sawing  convert  them  into  lumber.  Qualified  only  by  com¬ 
mon  sense  and  Yankee  ingenuity,  the  moments  caught  between  the  personal 
supervision  of  these  and  similar  operations  he  must  spend  at  the  carpenter’s 
bench,  where,  untaught  himself,  he  becomes  the  teacher  of  others.  Where  in 
the  midst  of  these  exacting  duties  comes  time  for  the  prosecution  of  those 
labors  for  which  his  training  and  his  inclination  have  naturally  fitted  him  ?  Who 
shall  estimate  the  amount  of  energy  wasted  in  performing  tasks,  however  admi¬ 
rable  in  themselves,  for  which  his  early  instruction  had  never  prepared  him? 
And  where  rests  the  responsibility  for  lost  opportunities  to  extend  the  cup  of 
healing  to  perishing  souls,  to  rescue  whom  he  had  volunteered  his  life’s  best 
service? 

Since  the  mission  was  established  in  Gazaland  no  less  than  three  societies,  in 
as  many  different  directions,  have,  within  a  radius  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  entered  the  field  —  a  field  which,  with  the  wisest  distribution  of  Chris¬ 
tianizing  agencies,  would  naturally  have  fallen  to  the  care  of  one  well-qualified 
organization.  The  cry  of  the  infant  mission  is  not  by  reason  of  its  bondage  to 
servitude.  Each  missionary  recognizes  with  peculiar  force  the  dignity  of  labor ; 
each  recognizes,  as  few  have  cause  to  do,  its  imperative  necessity,  and  each  is 
ready  with  hand  and  heart  and  brain  to  perform  to  the  uttermost  whatever  he 
is  called  of  God  to  perform.  But  let  not  the  Christian  Church  be  too  quick  to 
characterize  as  God’s  plans  their  own  trivial  efforts  for  the  evangelization  of  the 
nations  ! 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


21 


VI 

EVIDENCES  OF  GROWTH 

After  the  boundary  commission  had  decided  that  the  site  of  the  mission  lay 
within  British  territory,  the  long  contest  with  the  Portuguese  to  recover  the 
excess  of  duties  was  ended.  As  a  result  ^227^  were  refunded  and  became 
available  for  other  uses. 

The  mission  rejoices  in  the  conviction  that  now  —  in  strong  contrast  to  the 
prejudice  which  was  their  portion  in  earlier  years  —  they  hold  the  entire  confi¬ 
dence  and  respect  of  the  government  officials.  This  is  doubtless  due  in  part  to 
unswerving  insistence  of  the  mission  upon  securing  its  rights  and  their  steady 
and  conspicuous  example  of  loyalty  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  especially  to  the 
fact  that  government  positions  of  honor  and  trust,  to  a  far  greater  degree  than 
formerly,  are  now  filled  by  men  of  broad  sympathies,  high  mental  ability  and 
business  honor.  The  mission  is  distinctly  fortunate  in  being  located  within  the 
sphere  of  British  influence,  and  it  bears  its  cordial  testimony  to  the  high  order  of 
moral  integrity  and  justice  insured  under  British  government. 

While  the  laws  governing  the  colony  of  Rhodesia  are  still  in  a  somewhat  ex¬ 
perimental  stage,  the  tendency  of  legislation  is  markedly  toward  an  improvement 
in  its  code.  The  law  recently  passed,  for  example,  involving  a  severe  penalty 
for  the  practice  of  witchcraft,  is  doing  much  to  break  down  this  powerful  imped¬ 
iment  in  the  upward  progress  of  the  nation.  Another  law  pertaining  to  mar¬ 
riage,  while  retaining  some  undesirable  features,  is  decidedly  helpful,  in  that  it 
forbids  the  settlement  of  “lobola”  claims  by  giving  a  female  relative.  It  declares 
all  “lobola”  paid  more  than  a  year  previous  to  marriage  invalid,  and  it  requires 
all  marriages  to  be  performed  in  the  presence  of  a  duly-appointed  marriage  offi¬ 
cer,  and  then  only  when  the  full  consent  of  the  bride  has  been  secured. 

Another  source  of  gratification  to  the  mission  is  the  changing  attitude  of  the 
colonists  toward  its  members  and  its  work.  An  evidence  of  this,  much  appreci¬ 
ated  by  the  mission,  was  the  recent  forwarding  to  the  government  of  a  petition 
drawn  up  by  the  settlers  in  this  vicinity,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  but  for  the 
location  of  the  American  mission  in  Southern  Melsetter  there  would  be  no  white 
settlers  in  that  part  of  the  district.  Of  prime  importance  in  bringing  about  this 
better  feeling  have  been  the  skillful  medical  services  rendered  in  times  of  dire 
distress  by  the  missionary  physicians.  Another  factor  scarcely  less  prominent 
was  the  opening  of  the  Silinda  school  to  the  children  of  Europeans,  who,  but  for 
this  opportunity,  would  have  been  utterly  without  such  educational  advantages. 

The  missionaries  have  from  the  first  sought  to  identify  themselves  with  all 
movements  looking  toward  the  best  development  of  the  infant  colony.  They  A 
have  joined  the  Farmers’  Association  and  the  Rifle  Club,  they  have  mingled  with 
the  settlers  in  the  social  life  of  the  district,  assisted  in  the  services  of  their 
church,  officiated  at  their  weddings,  christened  their  children,  conducted  the  last 
sad  rites  of  burial.  Even  the  Portuguese  neighbors  across  the  border  frankly 
express  their  appreciation  of  the  results  of  the  mission’s  practical  work  among 
the  natives.  In  an  official  report  of  the  commandant  of  the  Mossurize  District 


22 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


he  cited  the  excellent  work  of  the  American  mission  as  exhibited  in  the  improved 
bearing  of  the  boys  who  had  been  in  attendance  at  the  Silinda  school  as  an 
argument  for  establishing  a  Catholic  school  at  his  headquarters  ! 

Especially  cheering  to  the  mission  worker  is  the  confidence  and  favor  won 
from  the  natives  themselves.  Fair  dealing  and  a  rigid  adherence  to  all  promises 
given  are  characteristics  which  they  admire  in  others  if  they  do  not  exhibit  such 
themselves,  and  while,  for  the  most  part,  they  are  reluctant  to  exchange  the  old 
life  for  the  new,  a  multitude  in  their  heart  of  hearts  would  be  grieved  to  see  the 
missionaries  depart  out  of  their  coasts. 


VII 

THE  STATIONS 

The  centers  from  which  the  work  is  carried  on  are  Mt.  Silinda,  about  20  S. 
latitude  and  30  E.  latitude,  Chikore,  twenty  miles  west  of  Silinda,  and  the  out- 
station,  Mangundi’s,  one  hundred  miles  east  of  Silinda  in  the  lowlands,  which, 
owing  to  the  presence  of  malaria,  is  occupied  but  a  portion  of  the  year.  Each 
of  the  principal  stations  is  some  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  each 
has  proved  remarkably  healthful,  abundantly  confirming  the  mission  in  its  choice 
of  location.  The  station  at  Silinda,  comprising  some  seven  thousand  acres  of 
land,  and  that  at  Chikore  some  eighteen  thousand,  were  secured  from  the 
Chartered  Company  under  the  same  conditions  as  land  held  by  any  colonist,  and 
are  the  absolute  property  of  the  American  Board.  The  fact  of  the  ownership  of 
this  land  is  peculiarly  advantageous.  It  enables  the  mission  to  protect  the  na¬ 
tives  resident  thereon.  It  affords  a  constant,  rather  than  a  changing  company, 
upon  whom,  under  most  favorable  circumstances,  a  continuously  helpful  influence 
is  exerted.  This  will,  in  the  natural  course  of  events,  develop  into  a  native 
Christian  community,  which  in  its  turn  will  leaven  the  whole  region. 

Silinda  is  selected  as  the  site  of  the  boarding  and  training  school  of  the 
mission.  Chikore  is  surrounded  by  conditions  peculiarly  favorably  to  the  devel¬ 
opment  of  a  large  and  important  day  school.  Otherwise  the  development  along 
the  various  lines  of  mission  work  is  essentially  the  same  at  the  two  stations. 

The  work  naturally  divides  itself  into  four  departments,  namely,  medical, 
educational,  industrial  and  evangelistic. 


VIII 

THE  MEDICAL  DEPARTMENT 

This  department  may  be  characterized  as  preeminently  the  great  advertising 
^  agency  of  the  mission.  Statistics  are  utterly  inadequate  to  demonstrate  the  value 
and  extent  of  the  work  accomplished  in  this  department.  Far  and  wide  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  land,  both  black  and  white,  has  gone  the  fame  of  its  skilled 
physicians.  Faithfully  has  the  constant  stream  of  patients,  while  being  relieved 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


23 


of  physical  suffering,  been  pointed  to  the  Great  Physician  who  would  heal  the  soul. 
The  appreciation  of  these  ministries  has  been  variously  manifested.  One,  dead 
to  all  sense  of  obligation  or  gratitude,  slips  away  in  the  night  without  even  paying 
the  small  fee  imposed  for  affording  him  relief  from  pain.  One  from  a  far  distant 
country  says,  “  One  thing  I  do  believe,  that  you  have  saved  my  life,  but  I  do  not 
know  what  to  say  to  your  words  ;  I  shall  carry  them  away  with  me  to  think 
about.”  And  many  have  testified  that  the  service  of  the  physician  in  daily  dress¬ 
ing  the  wounds  of  people  not  only  not  his  relatives,  but  not  even  of  his  race,  has, 
more  than  all  else,  convinced  them  of  the  sincerity  of  motive  in  all  the  mission- 


MISS  GILSON’S  HOUSE  AT  MT.  SILINDA 


aries.  Yet  whatever  the  attitude  of  the  individual  patient,  he  is  sure  to  report 
to  his  friends  at  home  the  results  of  his  visit  to  the  missionary  physician,  and  by 
this  means  the  seed  has  been  scattered  broadcast,  with  results  that  no  man 
can  measure. 

That  so  much  has  been  accomplished  in  this  department  is  almost  a  matter  of 
surprise  when  the  adverse  conditions  which  have  existed  are  considered. 

I11  their  work  among  the  natives  the  physicians  have  powerful  rivals  in  the 
“  izinyanga  ”  or  native  doctors.  The  great  confidence  of  the  people  leads  them 
usually  to  consult  first  one  of  these.  And  it  is  only  after  the  inefficacy  of  his  treat¬ 
ment  is  evident  that  they  seek  the  missionary  physician,  and  even  then  they  not 
infrequently  apply  the  remedies  of  both  at  the  same  time.  The  difficulty  also  of 
inducing  patients  to  follow  instructions  often  leads  to  unfavorable  consequences. 


24 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


One  man,  for  example,  suffering  from  a  severe  attack  of  fever,  was  given 
medicines  of  various  sorts  sufficient  to  last  several  days,  with  minute  instructions 
as  to  how  they  should  be  used.  His  friends,  arguing  no  doubt  that  if  a  little  was 
good  a  larger  amount  would  be  better,  administered  all  the  medicine  at  one  dose. 
Shortly  after  friends  of  the  patient  came  rushing  to  the  physician  in  distress  to 
report  that  the  sick  man  was  deaf  and  dumb  and  blind  from  the  effect  of  the 
medicine.  The  wonder  is  that  he  did  not  remain  so  while  life  lasted  ! 

When  the  stress  of  work  at  Silinda  was  at  its  height  there  were  constant  and 
urgent  calls  for  professional  services  from  distances  varying  from  three  to  seventy 
miles.  These  calls  within  a  period  of  four  months  necessitated  no  less  than 
sixteen  trips  from  home,  and  occupied  the  larger  part  of  the  time.  These 
journeys  were  for  the  most  part  performed  on  foot,  and  in  spite  of  crooked  paths 
overgrown  with  grass,  drenching  storms  and  swollen  streams,  thirty  miles  was  not 
unusual  as  a  “  day’s  journey.”  The  necessity  of  haste  compelled  the  taking  of 
the  least  possible  amount  of  luggage,  and  made  the  physician  dependent  upon  the 
people  for  lodgings  and  often  for  food,  a  phase  of  life  compared  to  which 
the  “boarding  around  ”  of  the  teachers  of  “ye  olden  time”  was  a  most  delight¬ 
ful  experience.  Had  the  physician  made  it  his  first  duty  to  attend  to  the  housing 
of  his  department,  he  would  justly  have  laid  himself  open  to  the  charge  of  being 
“worse  than  an  infidel.”  That  this  department  is  not  properly  housed,  then, 
casts  no  reflection  upon  the  mission.  The  hospital  and  dispensary  accommo¬ 
dations  are  insufficient,  and  of  the  rudest  kind.  The  consulting  room,  —  the 
physician’s  doorway,  —  the  operating  table,  —  the  broad  bosom  of  Mother  Earth 
(except  indeed  in  such  cases  as  require  some  privacy,  when  the  physician’s  dining 
table  must  sometimes  be  resorted  to),  —  are  certainly  spacious,  but  other  features 
quite  as  essential  are  lacking.  In  spite  of  these  adverse  conditions  the  depart¬ 
ment  has,  from  the  first,  been  more  than  self-supporting.  The  mission  rule  that 
“  natives  shall  be  required  to  pay  for  all  material  advantages  ”  has  been  as  helpful 
in  developing  a  manly  independence  as  it  has  in  assisting  in  the  financial  main¬ 
tenance  of  this  department. 


IX 

THE  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT 

The  growth  in  the  Educational  Department  of  mission  work  has  been  unique 
in  the  history  of  mission  work  in  South  Africa.  It  is  in  this  department  that  the 
raw  material  is  taken,  and  by  long  and  toilsome  processes  converted  into  that 
which  is  intrinsically  of  greater  value,  and  is  besides  far  better  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  a  growing  civilization. 

In  the  records  of  the  mission  stands  a  vote  passed  December  2,  1893, —  less 
than  two  months  after  the  arrival  of  the  pioneer  party  upon  the  field,- —  “  That  a 
day  school  be  begun  on  December  n.”  That  the  mission,  in  the  midst  of  the 
imperative  duties  incident  to  its  establishment,  should  thus  early  inaugurate  this 
work  is  convincing  evidence  of  its  vital  importance  in  their  eyes.  The  process 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


25 


of  evolving  a  well-regulated  school  system  out  of  the  material  in  hand  was  slow 
and  difficult.  The  native  children  were  invited  to  attend  school.  They  refused 
to  do  so  without  first  knowing  the  will  of  their  parents  in  the  matter.  The  par¬ 
ents  were  approached  upon  the  subject,  but  they  feared  to  consent  without 
the  permission  of  their  chief.  A  conference  with  the  chief  was  now  in  order. 
He  would  first  learn  the  will  of  his  chief,  Gungunyana,  and  on  this  pretext 
deferred  giving  his  permission.  The  mission  records  of  this  period  abound  in 
statements  of  action  relative  to  forwarding  the  interests  of  the  school.  Again 
and  again  the  missionaries  pressed  the  chief  for  his  approval.  Whether  he  finally 
communicated  with  Gungunyana  is  doubtful,  but  persistence  won  the  day,  and 
the  tardy  consent  of  the  chief  was  at  last  secured.  His  consent  was  reported  to 


SCHOOLHOUSE  AT  CHIKORE 


the  parents,  who,  in  turn,  gave  their  permission  for  the  children  to  attend  the 
school.  It  now  appeared  that  the  kernel  of  the  difficulty  lay,  not  with  the  par¬ 
ents  or  chief,  but  with  the  children  themselves.  The  wild  and  wily  progeny  of 
heathenism  had  no  aspirations  to  become  other  than  their  fathers  were,  and 
scorned  all  proffers  of  assistance  up  the  Hill  of  Knowledge.  The  teachers  now 
set  out  into  the  byways  and  hedges  to  compel  them  to  come  in.  But  for  months 
the  advent  of  a  teacher  in  the  kraal  was  the  signal  for  the  skurrying  of  little 
bodies  into  the  corn  field,  down  behind  the  river  bank, —  anywhere  to  escape 
the  spell  of  the  mission  teacher.  The  people,  too,  though  not  openly  violating 
their  word  of  assent,  were  still  suspicious  and  skeptical.  “  What  do  they  want 
with  our  children?”  one  said;  “They  are  scheming  to  get  them  into  their  hands, 
and  some  day  they  will  put  them  in  a  wagon  and  carry  them  off  as  slaves.” 
“  Why  attempt  to  teach  our  children?”  said  another.  “They  cannot  learn  — 
it  is  impossible  ;  learning  out  of  books  is  tor  the  white  people  alone.”  Not  a  year 
had  passed  before  the  reward  of  patient  effort  was  manifest.  A  few  children  had 


26 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


been  persuaded  to  attend  the  school  and  had  learned  to  read.  A  school  exhibi¬ 
tion  was  now  arranged  which  some  of  the  parents,  in  response  to  a  general  in¬ 
vitation,  attended.  The  little  bright-eyed  urchins  were  put  through  their  paces, 
but  at  the  reading  from  the  blackboard  the  visitors  smiled  derisively.  “  They 
are  not  reading,”  they  said,  “  they  cannot  read ;  they  are  only  repeating  what 
they  have  been  taught.”  The  pupils  were  dismissed  from  the  room,  and  a  sen¬ 
tence  suggested  by  one  of  the  parents  was  written  upon  the  board.  Great  was 
the  astonishment  when  the  children,  on  being  recalled,  read  accurately  what  had 
been  written  in  their  absence.  The  exhibition  was  a  success,  and  ranks  among 
the  factors  which  ultimately  won  from  the  people  a  recognition  of,  and  acquies¬ 
cence  in,  the  scheme  for  the  intellectual  development  of  the  nation. 

In  1896  a  brick  schoolhouse  was  erected  at  Silinda.  The  school  was  opened 
with  an  attendance  of  twenty-two  boys  and  two  girls.  During  the  years  which 
have  followed  nearly  two  hundred  pupils  have  been  enrolled,  the  majority  of 
whom  were  in  the  boarding  department.  Besides  the  boarding  pupils,  all  the 
children  on  the  mission  farm  at  Silinda  within  three  miles  of  the  schoolhouse  are 
in  regular  attendance  at  the  school.  All  are  taught  reading,  writing  and  the  ele¬ 
ments  of  arithmetic  in  Zulu,  and  the  more  advanced  classes  are  taught  to  read 
and  speak  English.  All  are  obliged  to  perform  manual  labor  from  one  to  five 
hours  a  day  —  the  girls  being  taught  general  housework,  laundry  work,  sewing  and 
gardening,  the  boys  pit  sawing,  brick  and  tile  making,  plastering,  carpentry, 
gardening,  care  of  cattle  and  laundry  work.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  school  have  been  drawn  from  that  portion  of  the  field  lying  in  the 
lowlands.  Scattered  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  that  region  are  num¬ 
bers  of  children  in  whom  the  baser  blood  of  civilized  and  heathen  races  is  equally 
mingled.  That  a  half-caste  Portuguese  has  been  sent  up  from  the  coast  by  his 
parents  to  attend  this  school  on  the  ground  that  here  the  boy  would  be  taught  to 
read,  and  especially  to  work,  may  prove  the  beginning  of  a  branch  of  school  work 
which  will  be  second  to  none  in  far-reaching  influences. 

Many  of  the  pupils  have  remained  in  the  school  for  a  term  of  years,  and,  aside 
from  performing  the  work  required  to  cover  the  expenses  of  board  and  tuition, 
have  by  labor  outside  school  hours  and  in  vacations  earned  sufficient  to  -supply 
themselves  with  all  their  books,  clothing  and  other  necessities. 

In  the  utter  absence  of  parental  or  other  restraint,  the  native  children,  by  the 
time  they  arrive  at  school  age,  are  singularly  well  established  in  the  habit  of 
having  their  own  way.  The  inevitable  consequence  is  that  the  matter  of  school 
discipline  requires  the  highest  degree  of  tact,  patience  and  persistence.  Once 
and  again  in  the  earlier  days  the  pupils  waited  upon  their  teachers  in  a  body  to 
instruct  them  as  to  the  best  method  of  conducting  the  school. 

On  one  occasion  a  class,  deciding  that  it  was  both  unnecessary  and  unwise  to 
adopt  a  certain  textbook,  calmly  refused  to  purchase  them.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  the  strikers  yielded.  When  the  book  was  completed  the  missionary  kindly 
offered  to  buy  back  the  books  for  which  the  class  had  so  great  an  aversion,  but 
none  would  by  any  means  part  with  his  book,  and  the  following  class,  impatient 
of  delay,  eagerly  asked  when  they  might  be  privileged  to  take  up  the  same. 
The  invariable  triumph  of  the  teachers  in  this  and  similar  contests  has  tended 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


2  7 


to  lessen  the  frequency  of  such  incidents,  and  has  impressed  upon  the  pupils 
such  wholesome  lessons  of  obedience  to  authority  as  will  last  them  for  a  life¬ 
time., 

The  admission  into  the  school  of  the  children  of  the  white  settlers,  when  but 
for  this  opportunity  they  must  be  deprived  of  any  educational  advantages,  was  a 
privilege  which,  in  spite  of  much  prejudice  against  schools  for  native  instruction, 
was  eagerly  embraced  by  the  better  class  of  colonists  in  the  district,  and  some 
twenty  colonial  children  have  from  time  to  time  been  in  attendance  at  the  school. 
This  plan,  while  far  from  being  an  ideal  one,  was  productive  of  excellent  results, 
not  only  in  bringing  the  colonist  and  missionary  into  more  sympathetic  relations, 
but  also  in  creating  in  the  white  children  a  juster  appreciation  of  the  needs  and 
capabilities  of  the  children  of  a  despised  race. 

The  equipment  for  this  work  has  been  most  primitive  and  inadequate.  Fam¬ 
ine  has  seriously  interfered  with  the  continuance  of  the  school  sessions  ;  insufficient 
teaching  force  has,  with  disastrous  consequences,  compelled  the  closing  of  the 
boarding  department  for  boys.  All  these  things,  together  with  the  lack  of  in¬ 
dustrial  equipment,  which  would  have  enabled  the  school  from  the  first  to  be 
wholly  self-supporting,  have  created  in  the  mind  of  the  mission  a  sense  of 
deepest  regret  at  the  thought  of  what  might  have  been  had  the  conditions  been 
favorable. 

Yet  in  the  face  of  all  disadvantages,  the  results  already  attained  are  such  as  am¬ 
ply  justify  the  mission  in  its  estimate  of  the  importncae  of  this  branch  of  its  work. 
From  out  this  infant  school,  in  time,  came  forth  the  material  from  which  the  first 
church  of  Christ  in  Gazaland  was  formed.  Out  from  its  fostering  care  have  gone 
forth  a  score  or  more  of  stalwart  youth,  fitted  as  none  of  their  kindred  ever  were, 
to  undertake  with  courage  and  manliness  the  uncertain  race  of  life.  Not  content 
to  drink  the  cup  of  idleness  in  their  heathen  kraals,  they  have  gone  in  search  of 
work  in  the  mines,  on  to  the  railway  construction  lines,  into  the  offices  and 
shops  of  the  larger  towns  of  Rhodesia,  and  have  always  commanded  the  best  posi¬ 
tions  and  wages  attainable  by  natives. 

The  reports  reaching  the  missionaries  of  these  former  pupils  are  such  as 
lighten  the  hearts  of  these  foundation  builders.  One  and  all  tell  of  their  efforts 
to  interest  their  fellow  workers  in  the  “  old,  old  story  ”  ;  one  having  voluntarily 
undertaken  to  teach  an  evening  class  finds  out  by  experience  the  disadvantages 
of  irregular  attendance,  but  is  encouraged  that  one  of  his  pupils  can  now  “  strike 
A,  B  and  O  ”  ;  one  evinces  his  thirst  for  and  delight  in  Christian  fellowship 
when  on  meeting  a  missionary  worker  he  writes,  “  It  was  the  happiest  day  of  my 
life  here  when  I  met  this  missionary  ”  ;  one  shows  the  new  standard  by  which 
he  measures  a  man’s  worth  when  he  comments  thus  on  his  employer  :  “  I  do  not 
know  what  his  faith  may  be,  but  he  is  a  man  of  good  character,  and  he  doesn’t 
drink,  either.”  The  ambition  of  these  young  men  to  provide  themselves  with 
means  to  establish  homes  unlike  the  unwholesome  abodes  of  their  kindred  is 
teaching  them  frugality  and  forethought.  A  passing  traveler  received  with  in¬ 
credulous  astonishment  the  information  that  already  these  young  men  had  sent 
back  to  their  missionary  £60  to  be  invested  in  live  stock,  or  placed  in  the  bank 
to  their  credit  against  a  time  of  need. 


28 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


X 

INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING 

Closely  correlated  with  the  educational  department,  yet  so  important  as  to  be 
a  department  by  itself,  is  the  work  of  industrial  training.  In  the  economy  of 
forces  utilized  in  the  process  of  regenerating  a  heathen  and  wholly  uncivilized 
nation,  it  is  the  special  function  of  industrial  training  to  give  to  the  individual 
withdrawn  for  a  time  from  the  deadening  effect  of  his  home  surroundings  a 
fitness  to  return  again,  equipped  with  the  moral  determination  and  mental  and 
physical  ability  necessary  to  eliminate  from  his  home  environment  the  condi¬ 
tions  unfavorable  to  his  best  development.  Up  to  the  present  time,  however, 


WATERFALL  AT  CHIKORE 


the  industrial  department  of  the  mission  has  existed,  not  as  a  fact,  but  as  a 
principle. 

Very  material  results  indeed  have  been  secured  merely  by  the  application  of 
the  principle.  At  Silinda  are  six  substantial  brick  buildings ;  at  Chikore,  four. 
The  tens  of  thousands  of  bricks  and  tiles  and  the  thousands  of  feet  of  lumber  ne¬ 
cessary  to  their  construction  have  been  the  product,  under  missionary  supervision, 
of  the  labor  of  natives,  many  of  whom,  before  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries,  had 
never  seen  a  brick,  a  tile  or  sawn  timber.  Brick  walls  have  been  laid  and  plas¬ 
tered,  hundreds  of  bushels  of  corn,  sweet  potatoes  and  other  garden  produce 
have  been  raised,  palm-leaf  hats  have  been  braided  and  sewed,  garments  cut  and 
made,  boots  fashioned  and  repaired.  But  when  the  safety  of  life  and  health 
depends  upon  haste  in  the  preparation  of  building  materials ;  when  mason  work 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


29 


must  be  pushed  at  any  cost  lest  important  school  work  be  discontinued  or  de¬ 
layed  ;  when  a  much-needed  article  can  only  be  procured  by  the  work  of  an 
amateur  carpenter  however  crudely  performed  ;  when  his  own  danger  of  becoming 
shoeless  is  the  goad  the  teacher  holds  in  the  side  of  his  pupil  at  the  cobbler’s 
bench,  —  it  is  self-evident  that  the  training  acquired  in  the  performance  of  these 
labors  is  not  the  end,  but  merely  the  incidental  result  of  such  toil,  and  the  advan¬ 
tages  of  industrial  training  as  conceived  by  the  mission  are  in  great  measure 
unattained. 

It  is  needless,  therefore,  to  dwell  further  on  the  negative  results  obtained  in 
this  department,  save  to  make  the  single  assertion  that  the  mission  is  fully  con¬ 
vinced  that  if  the  industrial  department  had  been  thoroughly  equipped  from  the 
beginning,  the  mission,  aside  from  the  mere  item  of  salaries,  would  from  the  first 
have  been  entirely  self-supporting. 


XI 

THE  EVANGELISTIC  WORK 

Of  surpassing  importance,  permeating  and  lending  to  every  other  the  very 
essence  of  its  value,  stands  the  evangelistic  work  of  the  mission.  It  is  only  after 
receiving  the  revivifying  touch  applied  through  the  application  of  this  agency 
that  the  product  of  all  missionary  effort  stands  stamped  with  the  seal  of  divine 
approval.  The  visible  results  along  the  line  of  evangelistic  work  have  been,  under 
God,  the  product  of  three  distinct  agencies,  namely,  the  missionaries,  the  Zulu 
assistants  and,  in  time,  the  native  agency,  raised  up  by  the  united  efforts  of  the 
other  two. 

Whatever  specific  duties,  in  the  division  of  missionary  labor,  fall  to  the  lot 
of  the  individual  worker,  he  is,  first  and  foremost,  an  evangelist.  He  is  mighty, 
not  in  infallibility  of  judgment,  for  in  this  he  often  errs ;  not  in  the  amount  or 
diversity  of  work  he  may  undertake,  for  the  results  of  these  are  ofttimes  trivial ; 
but  in  this —  that  his  consuming  passion  is  to  win  the  souls  of  men.  Yet  as  God 
has  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  mighty,  so  here  he  has 
chosen  as  the  keen-edged  instrument  for  the  working  out  of  his  purposes  the 
Christian  Zulus,  who,  themselves  the  fairest  flower  of  missionary  effort,  have  left 
their  homes  in  Natal  and  entered  fully  and  heartily  into  the  joy  of  spreading  the 
glad  tidings  among  these,  their  distant  kindred.  In  them  as  “  living  witnesses 
known  and  read  of  all  men,”  is  the  effectual  refutation  of  the  excuses  so  often 
urged  by  natives,  that  the  Christian  religion  is  for  the  white  man  only ;  that  it 
is  ill-adapted  to  their  needs ;  that  their  lives  can  never  be  touched  by  its  trans¬ 
forming  influence.  It  is  they  who,  having  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Zulu 
tongue,  comprehending  the  subtle  meaning  hidden  in  its  imagery,  and  knowing 
by  experience  the  peculiar  difficulties  that  assail  the  heathen  mind,  can  best  suit 
the  message  to  the  individual  need  and  press  it  home  with  most  effectiveness. 
It  is  their  Christian  homes,  aglow  with  light  from  heaven,  that  stand  like  beacons 


30 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


on  the  rock-bound  coasts  of  heathenism,  guiding  the  wanderer  in  his  journey  to 
the  eternal  city. 

The  long,  weary  months  spent  by  the  pioneer  band  in  their  journey  inland 
were  by  no  means  lost.  It  was  one  long  season  of  seed  sowing.  By  the  way- 
side,  at  each  resting  place,  at  every  kraal  near  which  the  travelers  pitched  their 
camp,  was  told  the  story  of  a  Saviour’s  love.  By  word  and  deed,  by  the  silent 
but  potent  influence  of  righteous  living,  by  prayer  and  song,  the  knowledge  of 
the  gospel  was  spread  among  the  people.  A  thirst  to  know  more  of  the  strange 
new  doctrine  attracted  some  to  accompany  the  party  to  the  Highlands.  By  the 
passing  back  and  forth  of  bands,  in  the  following  years,  of  carriers  headed  by 
missionary  or  Zulu,  the  interest  thus  kindled  was  kept  burning.  The  sick,  seek¬ 
ing  only  the  healing  of  the  body,  lingered  to  inquire  more  fully  into  God’s  plan 
for  the  healing  of  the  soul.  The  opportunity  to  secure  work  without  being 
fraudulently  deprived  of  their  wages  led  many  to  seek  the  mission  station. 
Finding  that  attendance  at  school  offered  the  best  opportunity  for  increasing 
their  knowledge  of  the  wonderful  Story,  many  readily  adjusted  themselves 
to  the  carefully  laid  plans  for  their  best  development.  Removed  from  the 
restraining  influences  of  their  heathen  surroundings,  fostered  by  the  genial 
atmosphere  of  Christian  love,  the  seed  germinated,  and  in  time  the  harvest 
came. 

It  was  a  momentous  event  in  the  history  of  the  mission  when  steps  were  taken 
looking  toward  the  organization  of  a  Christian  church.  This  was  in  January, 
1897,  when  the  mission  had  but  lately  passed  its  third  birthday,  and  the  decisive 
action  was  taken  only  after  much  deliberation  and  earnest  prayer.  A  meeting 
was  duly  called  and  over  twenty  young  people  presented  themselves  to  be  ex¬ 
amined  as  to  their  fitness  for  church  membership.  It  was  during  this  examina¬ 
tion  that  the  divine  acceptance  of  the  faithful,  though  imperfect,  work  of  that 
pioneer  band  became  conspicuously  manifest.  One  testified  that  his  attention 
was  first  arrested  by  seeing  a  Zulu,  before  retiring,  with  closed  eyes  and  on  bended 
knee,  beseech  from  some  unknown  presence  protection  through  the  night.  One 
had  been  touched  by  the  words  of  a  Zulu  hymn.  One  spoke  of  his  longing  to 
be  forgiven  for  such  a  catalogue  of  sins  as  appalled  the  mind,  and  each  and  all 
gave  abundant  evidence  of  the  working  of  that  resistless  force  before  whom  in 
time  every  knee  shall  bow.  As  a  result  of  this  examination  nineteen  were  ap¬ 
proved  as  fitted  to  enter  into  Christian  fellowship,  and  the  First  Church  of  Christ 
in  Gazaland  was  duly  organized.  To  the  original  membership  of  this  church 
fifteen  have  since  been  added.  Of  this  number  two  are  not.  for  God  has  taken 
them.  A  very  few,  having  been  tried  in  the  burning  fiery  furnace  of  temptations 
offered  by  heathenism,  have  been  found  wanting.  The  rest,  scattered  through¬ 
out  the  length  and  breadth  of  this  whole  region,  are  bearing  a  noble  witness 
which  in  due  season  will  bring  its  sure  reward. 

Both  at  Silinda  and  Chikore,  and  radiating  from  these  two  centers  in  every 
direction,  the  evangelizing  forces  are  steadily  and  systematically  at  work. 
The  work  in  the  lowlands,  carried  on  by  Zulus  under  the  supervision  of  the 
missionary,  is  bright  with  promise.  Each  year,  as  temporary  relaxation  from 
exacting  duties  at  the  stations  gives  opportunity,  the  leaders  of  this  most  po- 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


31 


tent  agency  go  farther  afield,  strengthening  the  weak  and  scattered  bands  of 
native  Christians,  garnering  in  the  fruits  which  in  other  seasons  have  been 
planted,  and  preparing  new  fields,  that  the  boundaries  of  God’s  kingdom  in  the 
earth  may  be  enlarged. 


XII 

CONDITIONS  ESSENTIAL  TO  FUTURE  GROWTH 

That  the  results  of  the  first  eight  years  of  missionary  effort  in  Gazaland  are  not 
commensurate  with  the  labors  involved  is  evident.  That  to  avert  the  same 
disappointing  results  in  the  future  demands  a  clear  conception  of  the  causes  of 
failure,  and  a  resolute  determination  to  overcome  them,  is  equally  manifest. 

The  underlying  reasons  to  which  the  meager  results  thus  far  attained  are 
chiefly  due  maybe  summed  up  under  three  heads, —  (1)  the  failure  at  the  outset 
to  grasp  those  strategic  points  the  holding  of  which  would  have  insured  to  the 
mission  the  mastery  of  the  situation,  (2)  the  insufficient  force,  which  has  always 
been  less  than  the  force  originally  designated  to  this  field,  and  (3)  the  lack  of  in¬ 
dustrial  appliances  and  of  men  specially  prepared  to  superintend  the  operations 
involved  in  their  use. 

The  field  of  the  Gazaland  Mission  is  practically  unlimited.  There  are,  how¬ 
ever,  within  a  radius  of  two  hundred  miles  certain  important  points  which  must 
be  taken  or  the  very  existence  of  the  whole  work  is  endangered.  To  expect 
to  accomplish  the  regeneration  of  the  nation  by  working  merely  in  spots  would 
be  as  futile  as  to  hope  to  free  this  country  of  malaria  by  draining  two  or  three 
of  the  ponds  where  mosquitoes  breed.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  the  origi¬ 
nal  plan  of  the  mission  as  approved  by  the  Prudential  Committee  in  authorizing 
its  formal  organization,  three  sites  were  suggested  as  strategic  points,  to  be  occu¬ 
pied  as  soon  as,  in  the  natural  course  of  development,  the  work  seemed  to  de¬ 
mand  it.  It  was  the  expectation  of  the  mission,  amply  justified  by  time,  that 
this  would  need  to  be  done  almost  immediately  on  entering  the  field.  But  the 
great  populous  regions  around  the  Buzi  and  the  more  southerly  regions  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Sabi,  whose  immeasurable  need  especially  attracted  the  mission  to 
this  field,  still  lie  untouched  by  saving  influences.  Away  to  the  west  from  Chi- 
kore,  across  the  great  Sabi  valley,  are  thousands  of  natives  who,  if  once  enlisted 
under  the  banner  of  the  King  of  kings,  would  prove  a  mighty  force  in  wresting 
this  whole  nation  from  the  thraldom  of  the  prince  of  evil. 

Directly  in  the  line,  also,  of  work  tending  to  win  Gazaland  for  Christ  is  the 
necessity  forced  upon  the  mission  by  the  crying  need  of  effectual  agencies  of 
assisting  in  the  educational  and  spiritual  development  of  the  children  of  the 
colonists. 

The  immediate  needs  of  the  future  as  regards  the  field,  then,  are  the  opening 
of  another  station  in  the  highlands  across  the  Sabi  valley  to  the  westward  of  Chi- 
kore,  the  inauguration  of  systematic  work  under  the  superintendence  of  resident 
missionaries  at  the  two  most  healthful  situations  to  be  found  in  the  regions  of  the 


32 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


lower  Buzi  and  Sabi  rivers,  and  the  ratification  of  the  already  carefully  matured 
plan  of  the  mission  to  aid  in  the  intellectual  and  moral  development  of  the  col¬ 
onial  children. 

Turning  now  to  a  consideration  of  the  force  essential  to  the  carrying  out  of 
the  plan  thus  outlined,  attention  is  called  to  the  fixed  policy  of  the  mission  that 
at  least  two  missionary  families  shall  be  located  on  every  station.  The  necessity 
of  departing  from  this  principle,  lest  the  little  vantage  ground  already  gained  be 
lost,  has  been  a  minor  cause  of  incomplete  success.  It  is  the  profound  convic¬ 
tion  of  the  mission,  intensified  by  experience,  that  to  locate  individuals  or  fami¬ 
lies  alone  in  the  midst  of  a  purely  heathen  community  is  harmful  to  their  best 
efficiency,  that  two  men  located  within  so  easy  access  of  one  another  as  to  insure 
their  mutual  assistance  and  fellowship  will  easily  do  the  work  of  three  not  so 
situated. 

The  work  already  in  hand  at  Silinda  demands  the  immediate  location  there  of 
at  least  three  families  and  two  lady  teachers ;  at  Chikore  two  families  can  barely 
cope  with  the  present  needs  of  the  situation.  At  each  of  the  three  new  stations 
to  be  opened  two  families  are  required.  To  carryout  the  new  scheme  for  provid¬ 
ing  for  the  education  of  colonial  children,  the  entire  time  of  one  lady  is  essential. 
In  addition  to  this,  to  provide  more  adequately  for  furthering  the  evangelistic 
and  educational  interests  of  the  work  the  present  force  of  Zulu  assistants  — 
four  families  —  should  at  least  be  doubled.  By  the  strenuous  personal  efforts  of 
Dr.  W.  L.  Thompson  and  others,  augmented  by  a  grant  from  the  funds  of  the 
Board,  a  beginning  has  been  made  in  the  establishment  of  the  department  for 
industrial  training.  The  advantages  to  be  gained  by  placing  this  department  on 
a  sound  financial  basis  are  so  important  as  to  warrant  a  reiteration  of  the  argu¬ 
ments  already  set  forth  in  favor  of  a  rigorous  prosecution  of  this  form  of  mis¬ 
sionary  labor.  Silinda  is  by  nature  unequaled  in  all  the  region  as  a  site  for  an 
industrial  training  school.  It  has  an  abundance  of  arable  land  suitable  for  a 
large  agricultural  industry ;  it  has  a  magnificent  forest  where  are  ready  at  hand 
the  materials  to  be  utilized  in  industrial  training;  it  has  an  abundant  water 
supply  which,  if  desirable,  could  be  converted  into  power  ;  it  is  surrounded  by 
natives  of  intelligence,  from  whom,  in  preference  to  all  other  tribes  in  Rhodesia, 
mine  owners  and  other  employers  are  fain  to  draw  their  labor  supply.  The  pros¬ 
pect  that  this  department  will  prove  itself  to  be  not  only  self-supporting  but  even 
remunerative  is  exceptionally  bright.  But  setting  this  aside  as  an  argument  of 
lesser  importance,  it  should  be  fully  understood  that  unless  the  mission,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  training  of  head  and  heart ,  undertake  also  the  training  of  the 
hand,  its  success  is  doomed.  A  casual  visit  to  the  abodes  of  the  native  people 
would  convince  the  most  skeptical  that  no  high  type  of  Christian  character  can  be 
developed  without  radically  changing  the  home  environment.  The  temptations 
of  life  in  the  heathen  kraals  are  too  great  for  human  weakness.  The  mission 
takes  the  youth  into  its  homes  and  schools ;  it  surrounds  them  with  the  atmos¬ 
phere  of  Christian  love;  it  awakens  in  them  new  aspirations;  it  leads  them, 
perhaps,  to  drink  at  the  very  fountain  of  life,  but  it  cannot  keep  them  always  in 
its  immediate  care.  Yet  is  it  justified,  having  led  them  so  far,  in  sending  them 
back  to  the  scenes  of  the  old  life,  without  first  giving  them  that  training  which 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


33 


will  enable  them  to  improve  their  home  surroundings,  which  will  give  them  the 
power,  by  the  skillful  and  honest  labor  of  their  hands,  to  acquire  such  needful 
things  as  in  their  deepest  degradation  they  had  no  desire  for?  The  mission  is 
unwilling  to  assume  this  responsibility. 

The  views  of  the  Gazaland  Mission  as  to  what  is  needed  for  its  proper  develop¬ 
ment  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows  :  (  i)  The  opening  of  work  at  four  new 
centers ;  (2)  six  new  missionary  families  and  two  lady  teachers,  and  provision  for 
securing  four  additional  families  of  Zulus  from  Natal ;  (3)  if  necessary  for  estab¬ 
lishing  the  industrial  department  on  a  sound  financial  basis,  a  further  grant  from 
the  funds  of  the  Board  for  this  purpose. 


XIII 

THE  PERSONAL  ELEMENT 

It  is  only  necessary  to  give  the  briefest  mention  of  the  individuals  whose 
combined  efforts  have  accomplished  the  results  secured,  that  their  friends  may 
be  enabled  to  extend  to  each  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  of  which,  as  absentees 
from  the  Christian  privileges  of  the  home  land,  and  as  sufferers  from  the  drag¬ 
ging  weight  of  heathenism,  they  sorely  stand  in  need. 

Rev.  George  A.  Wilder,  d.d.,  the  son  of  Rev.  H.  A.  Wilder,  long  a  member 
of  the  Zulu  Mission,  was  born  in  Natal,  South  Africa;  graduated  at  Williams 
College  and  Hartford  Seminary,  and  married  Miss  Alice  C.  Scamman,  with  whom 
he  sailed  to  join  the  Zulu  Mission  in  1880.  Mrs.  Wilder,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  N. 
Scamman,  of  Waltham,  Mass.,  is  a  native  of  Maine.  She  was  educated  in  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  and  has  shared  her  husband’s  work  in  Natal,  and  later  the  pioneer  life 
in  the  Gazaland  field. 

Rev.  Francis  W.  Bates  —  Doane  College  and  Oberlin  Seminary  —  is  the  son 
of  Rev.  H.  Bates,  for  many  years  a  home  missionary  on  the  frontier.  He  married 
Miss  Laura  C.  Herrick,  a  graduate  of  Oberlin,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  L.  E.  Herrick, 
of  Rockford,  Ill.,  with  whom  he  sailed  for  Africa  in  1888. 

Dr.  William  L.  Thompson,  the  son  of  Rev.  George  Thompson,  a  veteran  mis¬ 
sionary  in  West  Africa,  received  his  college  training  at  Oberlin,  and  his  medi¬ 
cal  course  at  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York.  One  of  the  happiest 
events  preliminary  to  his  setting  out  for  Gazaland  was  his  marriage  to  Miss  Mary 
E.  McCornack,  who  had  been  for  four  years  a  member  of  the  Zulu  Mission. 
Mrs.  Thompson’s  parents  were  of  Scotch  ancestry,  who  settled  in  their  early 
youth  in  Illinois,  which  is  their  daughter’s  native  State.  She  also  received  her 
education  in  Oberlin. 

Rev.  Fred  R.  Bunker  and  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  Belle  Richards,  the  daugh¬ 
ter  of  Judge  Richards,  of  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  graduated,  the  one  at  Olivet,  the 
other  at  Kalamazoo.  They  sailed  for  Africa  in  1891  and  entered  Gazaland  with 
the  pioneer  party,  but  in  1896  withdrew  and  joined  the  Zulu  Mission. 

Miss  Nancy  Jones,  a  graduate  of  Fisk  University,  came  to  Africa  in  1 888,  ac- 


34 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


companied  the  pioneer  party  to  Gazaland,  but  after  four  years  of  service  in  this 
field  retired  from  the  service  of  the  Board. 

Miss  Harriet  J.  Gilson,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  William  Gilson,  of  Milford,  N.  H., 
after  her  graduation  from  Mt.  Holyoke  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  educator 
in  Cape  Colony.  After  rendering  much  needed  assistance  for  two  years  in  the 
Zulu  Mission  she  returned  to  America,  completed  a  course  in  Hartford  Theo- 


BRICK  HOUSE  OF  MR.  AND  MRS.  BATES,  MT.  SILINDA 

logical  Seminary  and  when  her  aged  parents  no  longer  required  her  tender  minis¬ 
tries,  joined  the  Gazaland  Mission  in  1896. 

Dr.  William  T.  Lawrence,  the  son  of  Mr.  Edwin  Lawrence,  of  Binghamton, 
N.  Y.,  received  his  medical  degree  in  New  York  City,  and  with  his  wife  sailed 
to  recruit  the  Gazaland  Mission  in  1900.  Mrs.  Lawrence,  the  daughter  of  Rev. 
George  Henderson,  for  many  years  a  missionary  of  the  English  Baptist  Society, 
in  Jamaica,  went  to  Baltimore  to  pursue  her  studies  and  only  failed  to  complete 
a  full  course  as  trained  hospital  nurse  in  New  York  City  in  order  that  she  might 
accompany  her  husband  to  Gazaland,  where  his  services  were  so  much  needed. 


[MU  a  WHENCE  mm 


GEO.AW/LDE/? 


M/ss.  H.J,  OILS ON 


Af/?s.  G.A.W/io£H\ 


1 Mrs.W-  T Lawrence 


ML.  THOMPSON, M.D. 


. . . ■. 


Thanc/s  ht  Ba  te  s 


A/PS.  W.  L  .  THOMPSON 


;  MPAjEJM.  SATME  1 


36 


THE  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  C.  Fuller  are  the  latest  appointees  to  the  mission,  having 
arrived  in  November,  1902.  Mr.  Fuller  was  born  in  Ohio.  After  pursuing  his 
studies  in  Hiram  College  he  was  engaged  in  civil  engineering  and  in  business, 
and  is  to  have  special  charge  of  the  industrial  department,  for  which  he  is  abun¬ 
dantly  prepared. 

To  omit  to  mention  the  children  of  the  mission  would  be  to  leave  out  of  ac¬ 
count  an  element  at  once  of  keenest  joy  and  gravest  responsibility.  There  have 
been  connected  with  the  misson,  through  their  parents,  since  its  organization, 
nine  children  :  Cleo,  Leopold  and  Lincoln  Wilder;  Mary,  Laura  and  Marjorie 
Bates  ;  Paul  Bunker  ;  Harold  Lawrence  ;  and  Laura  Fuller. 

The  Zulus  who  have  been  connected  with  the  mission  and  have  proved  such 
valuable  assistants  are  :  'Pom  Zonzo,  Mjadu  Shabane,  Henry  Mbesa,  Laduma  Si- 
piki,  Bangizwe  Ndwandwe,  Elijah  Hlanti  and  their  wives.  Of  these  a  few  were 
born  of  Christian  parents  and  enjoyed  the  blessing  of  Christian  nurture  in  the 
home ;  some  were  reared  in  homes  where  civilization,  but  not  Christianity,  had 
gained  a  foothold  ;  and  two  were  surrounded  in  their  youth  by  a  wholly  heathen 
environment.  Of  these  two  families,  those  of  Mjadu  Shabane  and  Henry  Mbesa 
have  returned  to  Natal.  Of  the  children  of  the  Zulus  two  have  died  on  the  field. 

The  first  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Gazaland  Mission  is  closed.  It  has 
survived  the  privations  of  infancy,  and  enters  with  a  vigorous  constitution  on 
the  second  stage  of  life. 


